Electric-circuit-controlling apparatus



y 7 J. w. TOWNLEY ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14. 1924 INVENTOR.

Ill/1265s flz'd ATTORNEY.

r tric wiring system in connection with Patented May 3, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

JULIAN W. TOWNLEY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO LILLIE E. WEBER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. i

ELECTRICCIRCUIT-CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

Application filed January 14, 1924. Serial No. 686,148.

My invention relates to improvements in electric circuit controlling apparatus. It relates particularly to circuit controlling apparatus, in which the circuit is controlled by a key o] ')er ated bolt of a door. It is particularly well adapted for use in connection with either a. lighting or a burglar alarm circuit.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the kind described with which a lighting circuit may be opened when a door is closed and locked by a key operated bolt. It is particularly adapted for use in extinguishing electric lights in a room of a hotel or similar place, the entrance and exit door of which is provided with a key operated bolt operable from one side only of the door, whereby when a guest leaves the room, and locks the door from the outside, the lighting circuit in the room will. be broken, thus effecting a great saving in the lighting of the room.

A further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the kind described, which is simple, cheap to make, durable, not liable to get out of order, which is reliable in operation, and which may be readily applied to two existing structures.

My invention provides further a novel switch adapted for use in connection with the bolt of a door.

The novel features of my invention are hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the preferred embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section of a portion of a door and its co-operating jamb provided with my improved switch.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of my improved switch.

Fig. 4- is a diagrammatic view of an elecwhich my improved switch is used.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts in the different views.

1 designates an ordinary door body, such as is commonly used for the exit and entrance door of a hotel and having mounted on it a lock 2 provided with a sliding bolt 3, arranged to be operated from the outside of the door only by means of the usual key,

not shown, inserted through the key hole 4:, which does not extend through the door but only from the outside thereof.

designates a portion of the usual jamb having mounted thereon the usual strike plate 6, having a hole 7, through which the bolt 3 is moved to the locked position, when the door is closed.

My improved switch may comprise a box- 1 like casing 8, mounted in a recess'9, which 18 provided at the inner side of the strike plate 6, to which the casing 8 is secured by screws 10, which engage threaded holes in the strike plate 6, the heads of the screws being at the inner side of the strike plate.

lVithin the casing 8 is a stationary spring contact 11, which is fastened by a screw 12, to the upper side of a block 13 of insulating material, which is fastened in any suitable manner, as by screws 14, to the upper side of the bottom of the casing 8. Two horizontal parallel pins 15, which are perpendicular to the strike plate 6 are screw-threaded and shouldered at their ends and extend through and are held rigidly by nuts 16, to the rear wall of the casing 8. Two plates 17 and 18 of insulation are slidably mounted on the pins 15, and are connected by suitable means, such as rivets 19. Clamped between the plates 17 and 18, and movable therewith is a contact plate 20, which extends downward ly to a point at the rear of the contact 11. To normally hold the contact 20 against the contact 11, to close the circuit in which the switch is located, there are provided two coil springs 21, which respectively encircle the pins 15, and which bear at their rear ends against the casing 8, and at their forward ends against the insulation plate 17.

For insulating the contact 20 from the pins 15, there are mounted respectively in two holes provided in the contact plate 20, two collars 22, of insulating material, which respectively encircle the pins 15. The latter are provided at their outer ends respectively with heads against which the plate 18 is adapted to hear when the switch is closed, as shown in Fig. 1.

Conductors 23 and 24 are respectively attached to the contacts 11 and 20.

The front of the casing 8 is open, so that when the door 1 is closed, and the bolt 8 is slid through the hole 7 in the strike plate 6, the bolt will strike the plate 18, and force the latter, together with the contact plate 20, and plate 17, inwardly, thus separating the contacts 1.1 and 20, and thereby breaking the circuit in which such contacts are included. When the key is operated to unlock the door. and retract the bolt 3 to the unlocked. posi' tion, shown in Fig: 1, the springs 21 will force the plates 17, 18, and 20,- to the normal position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the contacts 11 and 20 are engaged with each other and the circuit is closed.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4-, 25 and 26 designate respectively two conductors connected to a suitable source of current generation. The conductor 2 f is connector to the conductor 25, and the conductor 23 is connected to a contact 27 of a switch, which is located in a room, containing one or more electric lamps 28. The room switch may have the usual switch lever 29, to which is connected a conductor 30, and which is adapted to engage the contact 2? to close the circuit at that place.

'lwoconductors 31 and 32 are respectively connected to one set of terminals of the lamps 28 and to the conductor 30. The other terminals of said lamps are respectively connected by conductors 33 and 3 t to the conductor 26.

In the normal operation of the invention, the door is closed and the contacts 11 and 20are closed, as are the contacts 27 and 29. Current will now pass from the conductor 26 through the conductors 33 and34, lamps 28, conductors 31 and 32, conductor 30, contacts 29, and 27, conductor 23, contacts 11 and 20, and conductor 2% to. the conductor 25.

henv the guest leaves the room, and closes the door 1, and forces the bolt 3 to the locked position through the strike plate 6. forcing inwardly the plates 1'7, 18 and 20, the latter will be moved a try from the contact 11, thus breaking the lamp circuit and extinguishing the lamps, until the bolt 3 is again moved to the unlocked position, upon which the springs 21 will restore the contact 20 to the closed position against the contact 1.1, so that the lamps 28 will be lighted when the person opening the door enters the room.

As the bolt 3 can only be operated from the outside of the door, the latter may be provided with the usual inside locking mechanism by which the door may be locked without extinguishing the lamps 28, when the guest is in the room.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the contact plate 1.1 may be slit to form fingers at the end which bears against the plate 20, to afford good contact surface.

I do not limit my invention to the structure shown and. described, as many modifications, within the scope of the a 'ipended claims. may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I clai-m'is:

In an apparatus of the kind described, a strike plate having a hole adapted to receive therein a bolt of a lock on a door, a pan shaped casing fastened to the inner side of the strike plate with its open side next the strike plate, two parallel horizontal bolts fastened at their inner ends to the inner side of the back of said casing at opposite sides respectively of said hole, two coil springs respectively mounted on said bolts and bearing against said casing, two insulation plates slidable on said bolts in front of and to ard and from said hole, a conducting plate slidable on said bolts between and rigidly fastened to said insulation plates, and acontact plate fastened to the inner side of said casin and insulated therefrom in front of said conducting plate and adapted to be in contact therewith when the springs force said insulation and conducting olate forwardly, said bolts having heads which limit the forward inoven'ient of the insulation and coi'iducting plates after contact between the conducting plate and said contact plate has been effected, the outer insulation plate being adapted to be struck by and forced inwardly by said bolt when the latter enters said hole.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification.

J ULIAN iV. TOVNLEY. 

